Catheters used for medical applications typically have elongated bodies formed of soft flexible materials, such as latex blends or silicone. Such catheters typically include a passage for draining fluid from a first end inserted into a patient's body cavity to a second end coupled to some utility device, e.g. a collection container.
Frequently such catheters include a temperature sensor mounted in the catheter body proximate to the first end. In such catheters, sensor wires internal to the catheter body extend from the temperature sensor to proximate the second end. Unfortunately, tensile loads typically produced by restless patients exceed the tensile strength of, and thus break, the sensor wires, thereby rendering the sensor inoperative. Moreover, the broken wires frequently deform, and sometimes penetrate, the outer surface of the catheter body thus creating the possibility of patient tissue damage.